Knoxx Stocks

March 28, 2008
Why deal with discomfort if it can be avoided and the mission still accomplished in an expedient fashion?

Prior to SHOT Show I had never heard of Knoxx Stocks. As I own a shotgun and a lever action .30-.30 rifle, had I known about a recoil reducing stock, I most assuredly would have tried it out. I had never heard of such. So, there I found myself, walking around the BlackHawk booth at SHOT and I find a collection of shelves with stocks on them: Knoxx Stocks. Then and there I began to learn about the stocks and how the came to be acquired by BlackHawk. Shortly thereafter I received a T&E shotgun stock for my Remington 870. Once it was installed I began to shoot with it and I wanted to report on what I found... or felt would be a better way to put it.

A little personal history with shotguns: I went to the police academy in the early '80s and way back then I weighed about 150 pounds. At 5'-10" tall, I was pretty lean... some called me skinny. The bottom line is that there wasn't a lot of me behind that shotgun and qualifying with double aught or slug rounds was uncomfortable. I was left with nice bruises on my shoulder every time. As I have, ah... matured, I've gained a little weight and thankfully some of it has been muscle mass. Still, if I have my preference I'd rather not shoot slugs or 00. Why deal with discomfort if it can be avoided and the mission still accomplished in an expedient fashion? With the Knoxx recoil compensating stock, this becomes (largely) a moot point.

As you can see in the cutaway picture to the right, the Knoxx Stock has two spring systems in it that absorb part of the weapon's recoil before it is transferred to the shooter's shoulder. The springs - as I understand things - work in order. The one you can see in the pistol grip begins stretching to absorb recoil as the action of the weapon rides back. Once that spring is at or near full extension then more energy is transferred into the horizontal spring in the stock which absorbs more recoil before energy is transferred to the shooter.

The hardest part about the whole thing was mounting it properly - and that wasn't difficult; you just have to have the right tools (don't you hate it when that happens?). For my installation a 3/16" ball end extended allen drive was required and that just wasn't a tool I had at hand. It also wasn't a tool I could find at the local hardware store. Luckily, after visiting three local hardware stores, I found the right drive. It would be easier for those of you who purchase Knoxx Stocks to also order the tools - they are available from BlackHawk as well.

Once the old stock was removed, putting on the Knoxx Stock was just a matter of lining it up and tightening down the screw. It looks a bit different, but "pretty is as pretty does" and it can look any way it wants if it reduces recoil to comfortable levels. Shooting tests show that it does that very well.

With the new stock installed, off to the range I went. Now most veteran readers of my material know that I like to shoot PolyShok 12g ammo. It only recoils about like 8-shot loads anyway. So, before I got too spoiled, I started my shooting tests with 00 rounds. What I discovered - and understand this is purely subjective - was that shooting 00 rounds with the Knoxx Stock was like shooting 8-shot without it. Recoil was noticeably reduced. Moving on I had to try slug rounds - and while I had previously been leery of the idea (slugs are just uncomfortable to shoot), after shooting the 00 rounds I wasn't so negative. I was looking forward to it.

The slug rounds were a joy to shoot. Without having to worry about uncomfortable levels of recoil, keeping slugs on target is a lot easier - and follow up shots are accomplished faster with less recoil to manage. Then I had a thought... what would the PolyShok ammo feel like? Remember that it usually recoils about like 8-shot loads anyway, so how would it feel while shooting a shotgun with the Knoxx Stock? The answer is that it felt like shooting a .22Magnum bolt gun. Recoil was VERY minimal. The other instructor I had on the range with me couldn't believe the smiles on my face after I'd been shooting 00 and slug rounds and he asked if I had some more ammo. Sure I did. I loaded up my shotgun with a mix of 00, slug and PolyShok. To the line he went. After racking through a 7-round mix he asked for more. All of a sudden, shooting the shotgun with standard loads was fun.

According to the Knoxx and BlackHawk websites, you can get the stocks for shotguns and rifles. The rifles they mention are (for now) usually bolt guns in common military usage calibers. I asked for one to fit my lever-action .30-.30 and was disappointed to here, "Not yet." I'm waiting... the Knoxx Stock will make that weapon fun to shoot (and let's face it: a standard stock .30-.30 just ain't fun).

If you're interested in reducing your felt recoil; getting your weapon back on target faster; reducing fatigue and discomfort... if those things matter to you, check out Knoxx Stocks on the BlackHawk website. Full retail pricing is between $130 and $280 depending on which stock you're getting to fit which weapon. As always, search online using appropriate terms and usually you can find prices that are approximately 60-70% of the full retail.

Happy Shooting!!

Stay safe!

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